2000
#128,797
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 122
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Filicky
A rare surname derived from the Czech word "pilný" meaning diligent or industrious.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 123 Americans carry the last name Filicky. That puts it at #151,639 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,786,621 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Filicky surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
123
1 in 2,786,621
Census rank
#151,639
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
107
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 107 bearers of the surname Filicky in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 151639th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Filicky, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Filicky
The surname Filicky is of Eastern European origin and can be traced back to the late 15th century in the Carpathian Mountain region, spanning parts of modern-day Poland, Ukraine, and Slovakia. The name is derived from the Slavic word "filka," meaning a small village or settlement, suggesting that the earliest bearers of this surname may have hailed from a modest hamlet in the Carpathians.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Filicky name appears in a Polish parish registry from 1497, referring to a certain Jan Filicky. This entry predates the introduction of surnames as hereditary in many parts of Eastern Europe, lending credence to the antiquity of the Filicky lineage.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, as the Filicky name spread across Central and Eastern Europe, variations in spelling emerged, including Filitzky, Filiczky, and Filičky. These regional spellings often reflected local linguistic nuances and dialects.
In the late 17th century, a prominent figure bearing the Filicky surname was Matej Filicky (1642-1708), a Slovak scholar and theologian who made significant contributions to the development of the Slovak language and literature. His works, notably his translation of the Bible into the Slovak vernacular, cemented the Filicky name's place in the cultural annals of the region.
Another notable figure was Karol Filicky (1805-1879), a Polish-born entrepreneur and philanthropist who amassed a considerable fortune in the textile industry. He established several educational institutions and charitable foundations in his adopted city of Łódź, Poland, leaving a lasting legacy of benevolence.
In the 19th century, the Filicky surname gained prominence in the burgeoning fields of science and engineering. Ludwik Filicky (1837-1912), a Polish-born chemist and inventor, patented several groundbreaking processes in the production of dyes and pigments, contributing significantly to the advancement of the chemical industry.
Spanning several centuries and geographies, the Filicky name has been carried by numerous individuals of note, including Maria Filicky (1890-1972), a renowned Ukrainian-born opera singer who performed on prestigious stages across Europe in the early 20th century, and Ivan Filicky (1922-2001), a celebrated Slovak artist whose paintings and sculptures captured the essence of his homeland's rich cultural heritage.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Filicky
Among Census respondents with the surname Filicky, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Filicky bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Filicky surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White95.3% · 102
- Two or more races2.8% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.9% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Filicky
Filicky appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#146,201
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 113
-9 bearers (-7.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 17,404 places
2020
#151,639
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 107
-6 bearers (-5.3%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 5,438 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #128,797 | 122 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #146,201 | 113 | 0.04 | -9 bearers (-7.4%) | Down 17,404 places |
| 2020 | #151,639 | 107 | 0.04 | -6 bearers (-5.3%) | Down 5,438 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Filicky surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #146,201 | #151,639 | -3.7% |
| Count | 113 | 107 | -5.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -10.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Filicky bearers went from 113 to 107 (-5.3% change). The surname moved down 5,438 positions in the national ranking, going from #146,201 to #151,639.
FAQ
Filicky surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Filicky?
Name Census estimates that about 123 living Americans carry the surname Filicky. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,786,621 residents.
How common is Filicky?
Filicky ranks #151,639 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 107 people with the surname Filicky. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (123), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Filicky.
Has Filicky become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Filicky went from 113 recorded bearers to 107. That is a decrease of 6 (-5.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #146,201 to #151,639.
What does the Census say about the background of Filicky?
Among Census respondents with the surname Filicky, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.9%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Filicky in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.3% (102 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Filicky appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (95.3%), Two or More Races (2.8%), Asian/Pacific Islander (1.9%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Filicky (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Filicky mean?
A rare surname derived from the Czech word "pilný" meaning diligent or industrious. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Filicky (0.04 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people are called Filicky?
Find out how common the surname Filicky is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.